


Suburban Summer Nights

by nocturnalboys



Series: Nights [2]
Category: Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Genre: M/M, Sleep, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-30
Updated: 2017-03-30
Packaged: 2018-10-13 00:52:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10503024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nocturnalboys/pseuds/nocturnalboys
Summary: Judal makes some embarrassing noises in his sleep, but he, unlike Hakuryuu, has the privilege of staying oblivious.





	

Across the street, under a line of thin trees, a single streetlamp lit up a circle of asphalt in perfect, dusky orange. Hakuryuu, propped up slightly in bed, had a perfect view of the light, and the dark leaves, and even if he had to concentrate to hear it, the roar of the expressway was still leaping across overgrown lawns, Judal’s not excluded, to reach him where he lay. Shifting very slightly, he checked his phone; ten after two in the morning. What a time to be awake.

Judal had promised it wouldn’t be weird at all. Don’t sleep on the couch, it’s covered in cat hair, he said. It will be much more comfortable in my bed, he said, and no, don’t worry at all, you always worry too much. But it was awkward anyway. Judal, who normally stayed up way past any reasonable person ought to, went to sleep the moment his freshly washed head hit the pillow. He was curled up in a ball, his face slack and sort of sweet, chest rising and falling steadily. 

Hakuryuu wished he could sleep, but he was too full of nerves. Every time he tried to close his eyes, they were instantly jolted open again by the thought of maybe if he scooted a little to the left and just gently put his arm around Judal. Judal was too close, and yet, he was too far away. 

It was only coincidence you just happened to move in on the same street as your childhood best friend without coordinating a thing, Hakuryuu tried to tell himself, for months on end. April, May, June, July went by, and as much as he felt guilty to entertain the thought, there was an air of destiny about all of it. Hakuryuu’s house was just across the street, and they only stayed up with the new game until eleven, so why did he insist Hakuryuu stay?

There was too much to think about, like the moths whirling about the streetlamp outside. 

Judal shifted, rustling the covers, breathing in audibly, and it made Hakuryuu tense. What if he woke up, and somehow caught Hakuryuu thinking about him? Cautiously, Hakuryuu turned his head away from the window and its slanted, cheap Venetian blinds, watching Judal as he moved again, gripping the drooled-on pillowcase. He sighed noiselessly, his closed eyelids fluttering.

He must be dreaming, Hakuryuu thought, looking on while Judal squirmed, tangling himself in sheet. When Judal spoke, it was so shocking Hakuryuu nearly fell out of his side of the bed.

“Don’t be… too gentle…” He slurred quietly, his mouth barely moving. Bewildered, Hakuryuu rubbed one eye. Perhaps he was so tired he was hearing things. Before long, though, Judal unleashed another sound, a low murmur that spiked into a moan. 

It was definitively Judal; his voice was, even when impeded by sleep, an equal combination of breathy vowels and grating consonants. To some people, it probably would have been annoying. To Hakuryuu, whether from exposure or the powers of affection, it was lovely. Then he thought of the sounds that voice was making and examined them closer, and had the sudden urge to curl up under the bed. 

As it was, he put his hand over his mouth, his face burning feverishly. This was wrong, he shouldn’t be watching, said half his brain, while the other half cowered in flustered astonishment. Judal wasn’t stopping; on the contrary, he was getting louder, hums and soft groans interspersed with hard breathing. 

“Yeah… ah, fuck, more…” Judal huffed, his cheeks visibly pink. If he got much more noisy, he’d probably wake himself up, Hakuryuu realized, nearly spilling into panic mode. He would wake up and see Hakuryuu staring right at him.

Who was he dreaming about, anyway? Hakuryuu didn’t have the gall to consider himself as a suspect. No, he’d be the last person Judal would have dreams like that about.

Rolling over a second time, Judal ended up pressed into Hakuryuu’s side, dangerously close to nudging them both off the edge of the mattress. Hakuryuu froze, holding his breath. Any second, Judal would have to open his eyes. If he did, even if he caught Hakuryuu awake and watching, at least this would end.

Judal gave a shuddering sigh, his breath warm against Hakuryuu’s upper arm. “Ryuu. Hm- Hakuryuu, don’t…” 

“J-Judal?” Hakuryuu replied, afraid of his own voice. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t sleep and-”

Upon closer inspection, Judal was still fast asleep, and Hakuryuu’s name was the only thing on his tongue. On the fifth repetition, Hakuryuu tried to get up, but somehow Judal had latched securely onto his elbow, gripping it just as tightly as he’d done to the pillowcase. Either this was a nightmare, or the best dream Hakuryuu had ever wandered into, but it wasn’t real; it couldn’t be. At least it probably couldn’t get more uncomfortable.

He was quickly proven wrong. Judal, hitching one leg sideways over Hakuryuu, ground weakly against him, seeking friction through his light sweatpants. And, knowing Judal, he had likely gone commando to bed, Hakuryuu half-heartedly recalled. “Okay, alright,” Hakuryuu whispered, trying to gently push Judal off him, “we’re done here. The end.”

Judal whined, the bastard, clinging securely to Hakuryuu like a barnacle on a dock. “I-I said don’t stop, dammit...”

Hakuryuu saw the futility in his struggle, settling back to let Judal squirm. It was a long half hour before Judal finally quieted, laying his head on Hakuryuu’s shoulder and falling silent. Judal really had been dreaming about him, so what did that mean? It wasn’t an indicator that he felt the same way at all. Dreams could be bizarre, and mean nothing whatsoever.

What if it was earnestly about him? Not wanting to get his hopes up too soon, or feel wrong about wanting a world where Judal wanted him, Hakuryuu forced his gaze back to the window, back to the streetlamp, and let its glow lull him into an uneasy sleep.


End file.
